Anyone using a wood stove?

wildess

wildess

Backpacker
Just decided I'm going to try wood stove cooking for the winter as a means of food and heat, together. A long time ago I tried a tiny Chinese one which I thought was a bit small for anything serious but enjoyed it. I've been looking into a few - Bushbox or Firebox are probably a bit pricey.. One Tigris looks good with the double bottoms but n/a where I am, however I've come across Savotta Grumpy and Happy, and Big bad stoves...

Which size of stove to get is my main consideration with a budget of around £40 or so, keeping in mind I don't normally camp anywhere near trees so would have to be hauling wood with me as well, and would also like to have to the stove as a heat source. I find it hard to gauge the sizes on Youtube videos because often they're not demonstrated with a pot.

I usually cook with Trangia so most likely will be taking the burner from this to use for cooking a morning coffee. Thanks!
 
Johnny3000

Johnny3000

Section Hiker
I got one from a friend who made one himself years ago, but I didn't like the soot on the pots, the smell of smoke on myself and how much time and attention it required to get a pan of hot water. Plus letting things cool down and making sure the fire is out, packing up, washing pots and hands.
Edit: forgot to mention time it takes to find kindling and dry wood. Could be a challenge in the rain. And you can't use it in the vestibule.
 
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WildAboutWalking

WildAboutWalking

Thru Hiker
I went through a 'playing around with wood stoves' phase when I lived in Orkney, made two or three (easy) and even bought a wood gas type. Came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth the bother (see Johnny's post above). And the fire risk troubled me (although this would be minimal in winter, of course).

PS - I hope that I haven't come across as being disparaging, that was not my intent.
 
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JimH

JimH

Section Hiker
As the others, I've tried it and it didn't work for me. I've one of Bob's BPL pocket stoves, and whilst I found it easy to collect fuel whilst walking in lightly wooded areas (small sticks from dead hanging branches), actually using it as an effective was harder work.

Perhaps the honey stove works better, but the pocket stove needs almost constant fueling, and I found it not quite big enough to sit in a comfortable spot between a hot fire that runs out of fuel very quickly and a smokey mess that night go out any second.

HYOH and all that, but I went back to alcohol stoves quite quickly (although I now generally use the pocket stove as a stove stand / windshield).
 
S

Stuart

Section Hiker
I've used one very successfully, but in the Pyrenees foothills in summer where there is plenty of dry fuel and I could cook away from the tent. I found it very time consuming, as others have pointed out.

I'm also not sure how it would be viable in a UK winter as a way to keep warm. You'd have to be outside your tent. Stoves are small and don't throw out a lot of heat.

Sorry!
 
Alf Outdoors

Alf Outdoors

Thru Hiker
wildess said:
Just decided I'm going to try wood stove cooking for the winter as a means of food and heat, together. A long time ago I tried a tiny Chinese one which I thought was a bit small for anything serious but enjoyed it. I've been looking into a few - Bushbox or Firebox are probably a bit pricey.. One Tigris looks good with the double bottoms but n/a where I am, however I've come across Savotta Grumpy and Happy, and Big bad stoves...

Which size of stove to get is my main consideration with a budget of around £40 or so, keeping in mind I don't normally camp anywhere near trees so would have to be hauling wood with me as well, and would also like to have to the stove as a heat source. I find it hard to gauge the sizes on Youtube videos because often they're not demonstrated with a pot.

I usually cook with Trangia so most likely will be taking the burner from this to use for cooking a morning coffee. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Personally, I think the only type of wood burning stove worth having when camping is a fully enclosed one, that you feed through a door at one end, has a flat hot plate on top to cook on, and a chimney/stovepipe to safely carry the smoke away so you can safely use it inside a tent (specifically a hot tent) not just to cook on but to warm the inside of the tent as well.
You probably won't find any stove of that type for £40 new though, unless you are lucky enough to find a used one going cheap.
The main problem is finding a lightweight one, as some of the cheaper ones made of painted steel, can weigh more than 10kg!!!
The lightest ones are made by US based companies like Seek Outside. They are almost entirely made of Titanium, and can easily cost upwards of £350, once postage and customs fees are included.
I was extremely lucky to find a used Seek Outside Cub U-Turn (their lightest ever Titanium stove) for just £120. Sadly, they no longer make the Cub model (the smallest and lightest they currently offer is the larger and heavier Medium U-Turn model) and when I enquired if they will make any more Cubs in future the answer was no.
It came with a 5.5 foot stovepipe which was the bare minimum length I could get away with my 1.8m tall hot tent, so I ordered 7.5 foot one instead which is just right.
I have saved quite a bit of weight by ditching the packaging it came in and using a storage bag I already had that is much lighter.
The stove itself weighs 397g and the stovepipe weighs 327g, but with everything else needed, like the stove pipe rings, stove lighter, velcro strap for the stovepipe, and my storage bag, the weight comes to 782g.
There is nothing lighter than that on the market.
Camping in the winter is now a real pleasure, as it can be below zero outside the hot tent, but 26'C or more inside with the stove going! I just wish the hot tent was lighter...It weighs around 1.7kg.
I am currently in discussion with a Chinese tent maker to see if they can make me a custom hot tent from cheap Chinese "fake" Camo DCF, which should be about half the weight but still very affordable.

Here's my stove when it's burning nicely (yes, it gets red hot!): 1730331840158.jpeg
 
wildess

wildess

Backpacker
Thanks to everyone and their replies. I understand all points raised which is mainly the reason why I'll not be spending much money on this! And winter is a time with lots of extra dark hours and nothing else to do :) As it doesn't really get that cold on the coast in Ireland in winter, around 5° I often spend nights out of the tent star gazing (rare!). I've decided to chance a Grumpy stove made by a company called savotta and we'll see how it goes...
 
WildAboutWalking

WildAboutWalking

Thru Hiker
Why not the Happy stove? 😁

www.savotta.fi

Happy stove

The stove consists of seven laser-cut stainless steel components: three side walls, a bottom, a "happy face” and two pot supports. Once clicked into place, the stove is ready for use.
www.savotta.fi www.savotta.fi
 
Bopdude

Bopdude

Thru Hiker
Love a wood fire where I can, I have the firebox plus the firebox mini, various wood gasification stoves and a folding titanium tent stove. As you say, you have time to get a supply of wood and time to process it, enjoy.
 
dovidola

dovidola

Thru Hiker
Here's a related question:

Has anyone tried charcoal? By which I mean taking a bag of perhaps a dozen lumps (enough to make a small pile) and use a firelighter block or similar to get it going. Surround with a few rocks (or dig a little pit with an air intake), prop a lightweight grill over the lit charcoal, and cook thereon?
 
WildAboutWalking

WildAboutWalking

Thru Hiker
dovidola said:
Here's a related question:

Has anyone tried charcoal? By which I mean taking a bag of perhaps a dozen lumps (enough to make a small pile) and use a firelighter block or similar to get it going. Surround with a few rocks (or dig a little pit with an air intake), prop a lightweight grill over the lit charcoal, and cook thereon?
Click to expand...
Don't like the idea of digging pits, but charcoal is a good idea because of its high calorific value. No reason why it couldn't be burnt in a small metal stove of the type being discussed.
 
Run_Hike_Meat_Repeat

Run_Hike_Meat_Repeat

Thru Hiker
dovidola said:
Here's a related question:

Has anyone tried charcoal? By which I mean taking a bag of perhaps a dozen lumps (enough to make a small pile) and use a firelighter block or similar to get it going. Surround with a few rocks (or dig a little pit with an air intake), prop a lightweight grill over the lit charcoal, and cook thereon?
Click to expand...
#bushnudger 😉
but I do miss cooking and socialising around a (when permissible) Dakota fire pit ❤️
 
Bopdude

Bopdude

Thru Hiker
dovidola said:
Here's a related question:

Has anyone tried charcoal? By which I mean taking a bag of perhaps a dozen lumps (enough to make a small pile) and use a firelighter block or similar to get it going. Surround with a few rocks (or dig a little pit with an air intake), prop a lightweight grill over the lit charcoal, and cook thereon?
Click to expand...
Yep, done that too, very easy done, depending on what you're cooking and taking to cook with. Wood pellets are another favourite of mine in a couple of different stoves
 
Bmblbzzz

Bmblbzzz

Thru Hiker
Alf Outdoors said:
Personally, I think the only type of wood burning stove worth having when camping is a fully enclosed one, that you feed through a door at one end, has a flat hot plate on top to cook on, and a chimney/stovepipe to safely carry the smoke away so you can safely use it inside a tent (specifically a hot tent) not just to cook on but to warm the inside of the tent as well.
You probably won't find any stove of that type for £40 new though, unless you are lucky enough to find a used one going cheap.
The main problem is finding a lightweight one, as some of the cheaper ones made of painted steel, can weigh more than 10kg!!!
The lightest ones are made by US based companies like Seek Outside. They are almost entirely made of Titanium, and can easily cost upwards of £350, once postage and customs fees are included.
I was extremely lucky to find a used Seek Outside Cub U-Turn (their lightest ever Titanium stove) for just £120. Sadly, they no longer make the Cub model (the smallest and lightest they currently offer is the larger and heavier Medium U-Turn model) and when I enquired if they will make any more Cubs in future the answer was no.
It came with a 5.5 foot stovepipe which was the bare minimum length I could get away with my 1.8m tall hot tent, so I ordered 7.5 foot one instead which is just right.
I have saved quite a bit of weight by ditching the packaging it came in and using a storage bag I already had that is much lighter.
The stove itself weighs 397g and the stovepipe weighs 327g, but with everything else needed, like the stove pipe rings, stove lighter, velcro strap for the stovepipe, and my storage bag, the weight comes to 782g.
There is nothing lighter than that on the market.
Camping in the winter is now a real pleasure, as it can be below zero outside the hot tent, but 26'C or more inside with the stove going! I just wish the hot tent was lighter...It weighs around 1.7kg.
I am currently in discussion with a Chinese tent maker to see if they can make me a custom hot tent from cheap Chinese "fake" Camo DCF, which should be about half the weight but still very affordable.

Here's my stove when it's burning nicely (yes, it gets red hot!): View attachment 59374
Click to expand...
So for a total weight of 2.5kg you have tent and heating. That's the same weight as the obviously totally unheated Wild Country Hoolie 2 I used until not so long ago. 😄
 
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